Beyond Sunday
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the Podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week, with your Hosts Pastors' Lee and Jim.
It's Time to Inspire, Uplift, and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now!
Beyond Sunday
Lost and Found: The Joy of Being Recovered
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week With your hosts, pastors Lee and Jim. It's time to inspire, uplift and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now.
Speaker 2:Hey, what's going on everybody? This is Pastor Lee and, as always, I'm sitting here at the table with Pastor Jim, and we are the pastors of Christ Family Outreach Church, located in Amelia, virginia. If you do not have a church, swing on by on a Sunday or a Thursday night and tell us hello. We would love to meet you in person. Pastor Jim, how are you feeling?
Speaker 1:today, brother, Feeling good, and I'm excited to dig into the Word of God. It's cool because we're going to be continuing a series that I don't know that we actually thought was going to be a series, but three weeks ago we started talking about the prodigal son. Last week and then the week before that it was the lost sheep, and then now today we're going to be talking about the lost coin, and all three parables are pointing really to the same thing.
Speaker 2:So this is going to be part three of a three-part series that we didn't even intend on, Didn't even know it was going to be a series, but you know it's just, the Word is alive and so as you get into the Word of God, you just kind of you're led sometimes by the Spirit to go from one thing to another thing, to another thing. And you're right, we didn't plan on it kind of being like this, but we've kind of been camped out in this particular area in Scripture. And so today we're coming from Luke, chapter 15, verses 8 through 10. And, as Pastor Jim just mentioned, we are going to study this topic of the lost coin. Pastor Jimmy, we'll go ahead and read Yep, let's read it.
Speaker 1:This is what the Word of the Lord says Luke 15, verse 8. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and her neighbors, saying Rejoice with me, for I have found that coin that I had lost. Saying Rejoice with me, for I have found that coin that I had lost. Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, as I was studying this text and just reading it, this question just kind of exploded in my head. You know, I just kind of chuckled over it and I hope the listeners will get some humor out of it as well. But, pastor Jim, I got to ask you a question before we go any further. Because here we are, we're talking about this lost coin and the first thing that I personally think about when I hear that is some change lost down under the couch cushions. Right, and we've probably all been there before, where we're doing a deep clean, we remove the cushions and we find who knows what down there. So most people that know Pastor Jim, you know that he's got three sons, and so the thing that I was curious about, pastor Jim, is what was the most interesting thing that maybe you have found under the cushions of your couch? Oh, man.
Speaker 1:Well, you know now that I'm thinking about it. One time, when we were in North Carolina and I was in a military station down at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, we had got back from the beach and at the beach my son, my littlest son, abel, had asked for a hermit crab. And I think you know where I'm going with this. Oh man, that's terrible. So we brought this hermit crab home, we had this little shelter for it and what we did was we put it on top of the refrigerator.
Speaker 1:And one day we came home and we looked on top of the refrigerator or I should say my kids did and said hey, we can't find this crab. And I said, oh no. And so what happened was many weeks later go by and we moved the couch so not necessarily in the couch cushions, but as we moved the couch, guess who was hanging out underneath one of our couches? Oh no, not Hermie the Crab, yep, and I am sad to report that I don't believe he kept his life during that process, but that might be the strangest thing I've ever found in around or under a couch.
Speaker 2:That's pretty good. I know with me the typical going to find some loose change right, a remote control that you're digging all over the place and it just kind of gets shoved down back behind that cushion. But one of the craziest things to me that I have found in couch cushions, under couch cushions, and I can't understand how is the amount of food like somebody help me out out there listening right now like find so many crumbs. You know, and I can't explain it because I've got one hole on my face that the food goes into right, like and I think that for my kids, for my wife, like I just don't understand how we have this one place where the food has to get to and how we miss that one place being our mouth and like crumbs, like fall, hit our person, roll off of us, land on the couch and somehow, pastor Jim, get down through the cracks and under the cushions. Like I cannot figure out how food particles make it under there. And man, I'm talking about so much that at times you know you're thinking, man, I could make a whole meal and I put all these scraps together right here. Man, like got bread chips, I mean you name it. Man, like I just don't understand it. And thank God ice cream melts because, man, with the amount of ice cream that goes through here sometimes in this household, like I don't even know, like the amount of ice cream that we would find under there if it did not melt. But that's just, that's just a little thought I had. You know, hopefully some of the listeners are giggling right now thinking about some of the craziest things that maybe, that maybe they found underneath the cushions of their couch.
Speaker 2:But let's get rolling back into the text Luke 15, 8 through 10. As Pastor Jim just read, this woman, she has lost this coin, and this is not the equivalent of losing some pocket change in between the cushions of your couch, like I just mentioned, that I found at times in my own home. But those 10 silver coins would have been valued at 10 days worth of wages during that time, which means the one lost coin was a really big deal because, pastor Jim, it was a, as you know, a full day's worth of wage. It was a full day's worth of pay and I just imagine going to work, getting paid for that one day. Shortly after getting home you come, you relax, you kind of let your hair down a little bit. Maybe you're cleaning up and you lost the money you know. Just like this woman, I believe most of us would be searching high and low to find that money that we had lost.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you bring up a really good point. Because when you read this it may be easy to think about man, we're just talking about some change, and then nowadays you know loose change, who's looking for that? You drop a penny, you might keep walking, but I think that once you realize it is a full day's wage, anybody here listening who would be looking for that amount of money, or rather lost that amount of money, would absolutely be looking for that. But I think, as we kind of dissect it a little bit further, what really gets me through this whole text and really what's gotten me through all of these parables, is just how much it shows God's heart. You know, jesus is telling this story right after the parable of the lost sheep that we talked about, right after the prodigal son, and the three of these parables are really driving home the same point God is not giving up on what belongs to Him.
Speaker 1:That coin is not just money, it's a picture of a person. It's a picture of you, pastor Lee, it's a picture of me, it's a picture of our listeners and someone who is lost or who at one point was lost, and maybe they're spiritually adrift because we talk about the prodigal son, but maybe they don't even know that they're lost. That coin might not know it's lost and God is like this woman who's relentless in going after this coin. I mean, come on, the God of the universe, this is what I love about it the God of this universe is out there, searching, shining a light, refusing to let anyone slip through the cracks. And as we sort of unpack this a little bit further, I want to share some insights from other parts of the scripture that I found interesting, because Ezekiel 34 says this God says I'm going to seek the lost and I will bring back the strayed and I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the weak. And that is this picture of this relentless pursuit that reflects his covenant love. Because it's not like God is just casually searching through the couch cushions, right, it's deliberate, it's personal, it's all in, just like this woman who's sweeping her entire house right.
Speaker 1:In Hosea 2, 19 and 20, god speaks to Israel and he's saying I will betroth you to me forever. Speaks to Israel and he's saying I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to my righteousness and injustice and steadfast love and mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall know the Lord, even when if we can for a moment just picture this coin as Israel even when Israel was straying away, god's love never quit on Israel. He's like the woman who will not stop until the coin is found. This parable shows us that God's pursuit is not just about finding this coin. It's about restoration of relationship, and it's a relationship that is meant to last forever. So when we're sharing this, we need to point out how the coin's value to the woman reflects how God treasures each and every single one of us, no matter how far we've wandered or how lost we might feel yeah, yeah, that's so good.
Speaker 2:I'd like to point something out, and I want everyone to pay close attention to what I'm about to say next, because it really should hit home for a lot of people that may be listening today. When you're lost, you're out of place. I mean, think about that. When you're lost, when something is lost, it's out of place. A lost coin holds no value as long as that coin remains lost. So I could have a $20 bill. I could lose it. I'm unable to put my hands on it because I cannot locate it. That $20 is worthless to me as long as it's out of my hands. I cannot use it if I cannot put my hands on it. That bill, that $20 bill, cannot serve its purpose until it gets back into my hands. So if you're lost today, I just want to encourage you get back into the place that you rightfully belong, Get back into the hands of God so that you can be fully used in the purpose that God Almighty has for your life.
Speaker 1:Amen. And you know, as we get into the next part of the text, it's getting into that rejoicing over the one who was found right. And we talked about this, obviously, in the last few episodes. But I wanted to go a little bit deeper because I found some different scriptures that I thought I would point everyone listening to, because what the woman does not do when she finds the coin is not say nice, I got it, let me move on to the next task. She's calling up her friends, it says her neighbors, and she's saying you've got to rejoice with me. And that's huge, because what happens?
Speaker 1:Jesus says, when every sinner who repents, he says to heavens, rejoice One person. He's not talking about a stadium full of people turning to God or you know mass salvations, it's just over the one. So this one coin right is speaking of salvation. And when that happens, heaven rejoices and David even says you make known to me the path of life In your presence. There is fullness of joy At your right.
Speaker 1:And David even says Because in Zephaniah this is what the Lord says who will save? Amen, he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you by his love, he will exalt you with loud singing. So what this is telling me is that God himself is singing over the redeemed, or you could say it like this God himself is singing over the found coin. This parable is not just about the lost being found. It's about God's delight in finding us. It's about the delight that God has in pursuit of us. And really, as you think about this parable, you can use it to spark conversations throughout your day-to-day about how personally and joyful God's response is when someone turns to Him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd like to point out the fact—I know you touched on it a little bit, but this lady in this parable— she goes to work.
Speaker 2:She straight goes to work looking for this coin, because she knows the coin has value.
Speaker 2:Yes, god loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son because he knows that in us there is value that he can work out for his glory.
Speaker 2:And I think that's why it's so important that if you're listening today and you feel like you're lost, that you understand that you're out of place and maybe you feel like, because you're lost and out of place, that you have no value. But I promise you that when you put your life into the hands of God, you will begin to write away Immediately, you will begin to experience the value that you have as a son or daughter of the Most High God, amen. So everyone listening has value in the eyes of God and we see this through this parable of what Jesus is teaching by this woman losing this coin, not wasting time immediately going to work to try to find this particular coin. So here we see through the text a lamp was lit, okay, there's floors to be swept clean, and the words used are seek, diligently until she finds the coin. This woman has gone to work and she's not letting up until she gets what she is set out to look for.
Speaker 1:You know what's so cool about you saying that is my very next note has everything to do with the flip side of that, because what you're saying is grace does all the work. God does all the work. The woman in this parable is representing God looking for the lost. But I want you to look at a different angle here. Notice that the coin didn't do anything to be found. It's just sitting there. Just sitting there, probably in a crack, probably in some dust, probably surrounded in this dark, shadowy corner. It's not shouting out, it's not signaling. The coin does nothing. But the woman, like you said, pastor Lee, did all of the work. She lit the lamp, she swept the house, she searched diligently.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's this picture of God's grace Just chasing after us, bro. Yes, like Ephesians says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it's the gift of God, it's not a result of work. See, the coin did no work. So that way no one can boast, is what Ephesians says we don't pull ourselves out of the mess. God is the one who's searching, god is the one shining the light, god is the one sweeping away the junk to reach us. And also in Titus, the word says. I love this parable because it's showing us that salvation is initiated from God from the start and through completion. Start and through completion. And in a conversation, what we can do is we can emphasize how we don't earn God's love, but he comes for us, even if we're stuck in a couch cushion, even if we're stuck in the dark.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it reminds me what you just said, reminds me of a song that's been out quite a few years now actually, but it's titled Reckless Love. You remember that Talking about God's reckless love? And for a long time, pastor Jim, I did not. Although the song was catchy and sounded great. For a long time I did not like that song because I was thinking man, reckless love, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:Everywhere that I read in Scripture there's order in God's love and there's purpose. But then, as I begin to listen to the song more and more, I begin to understand the angle in which the artist was coming from. It's that God is willing to chase after you and do whatever it takes to get you to see the love that he has for you. And if that means coming up a mountain at the highest height to where you've climbed to, to try to run away from him or break down walls or whatever it is, and I begin to kind of change my thinking on the meaning of that song. And now it's one of my favorites because it's so right In anything that we try to set up or put in between us and God as we have tried to maybe run away from his will for us.
Speaker 2:He loves us so much that he's willing to tear down any of those walls and barriers that we ourselves build up. Think about it he loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son. That's love. That's a God that's willing to turn the light on and can I just say that the light is Jesus Christ. Right, so that's a God that is willing to turn the light on in the house, to sweep the place clean, to look under the cushions, to chase you down. It's like we said in last week's episode God pursues us. You know, god pursues us, and maybe that was two weeks ago. God pursues his people, and what an honor it is that he does.
Speaker 1:And you know, as we kind of wrap things up. You know I love that you talked about this reckless kind of love, because this parable is not just a cute bedtime story, right, even though it's a good story to be imparting to our kids and our youth and all those things. But the truth is is this is a window into God's relentless love for the lost. But in this story, once we realize that, we understand also that there is a call for us to join in this search. Okay, this parable is going to challenge us to reflect number one on God's heart for the lost, which we've done.
Speaker 1:The woman's effort makes me ask do I care about the lost the way she cared about that coin? Am I willing to shine a light? Am I willing to get my hands dirty? Am I willing to keep searching for ways to point people to Jesus? In Matthew 5, jesus says let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. We are called to be like a lamp. We are called to illuminate the way of God, and when someone turns to him, I want to know to illuminate the way of God, and when someone turns to him. I want to know do I celebrate like heaven does, or do I just move on?
Speaker 2:Yeah, when the coin is back in its place, as you mentioned earlier, when it's back where it belongs, friends and neighbors are invited to come over for a time of rejoicing. They're celebrating because it's more than just finding the lost coin. It's about what was once lost and out of place, now being home, where it belongs.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:Now it's back in its rightful place. And when we see someone at church or we have a family member or a friend, even if they're going to another church, that's okay if that's where they're called to be. But when we find out that someone that we know has gotten saved or maybe at your church someone comes forward that you don't know and they've gotten saved what we need to do is go fan that flame by encouraging them, by congratulating them, by introducing ourselves to them, by getting their name and giving them our name, so that at the next service, when the doors are open to the building, we can see if they're there and continue to encourage them, as we also need to be encouraged. So what was once out of place has now gotten into place, what once was lost has now been found, and it's our job as the body of Christ to do what we see in this parable, our job as the body of Christ to do what we see in this parable and that Pastor Jim is to celebrate. That's right.
Speaker 2:The 12th verse tells us that angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents and turns to Christ, one lost person coming home to Christ by way of salvation, where they belong in a personal relationship with Jesus is enough to make heaven be in a celebration, an uproar of praise. And so how much more should we here on earth, who have witnessed it we've witnessed it how much more should we be in celebration, rejoicing with people that have come over from the enemy's camp into the camp of God?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know, like, when I walk into a room and I see you rejoicing, more than likely I'm going to ask the question what you rejoicing about? And that's going to be your opportunity for testimony and that's going to be your opportunity to be an ambassador for Christ to say, well, look what I just found in my couch. You know how many times have you lost something? And maybe you told your wife and I can't find my wallet, I can't find my keys, I can't find.
Speaker 2:whatever the case, is when is the remote control?
Speaker 1:And then, when you find it, what do you do? You celebrate yeah, yeah, yeah. And then someone says well, where'd you find it?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then that's an opportunity for us, where, in 2 Corinthians, it talks to us about being ambassadors for Christ. God's going to make his appeal through us, through our testimony. That's right, and so that's what's really cool about the rejoicing piece, which is why it's so important to do so, because that's going to give us an opportunity to actively seek other people and telling them through sharing the gospel message through our testimonies.
Speaker 2:Yeah, imagine man and I hope the listeners take this the way I really want us to come across, because this is not to condemn, but it should be to encourage. Imagine how sad it must be to be in a service. Someone comes forward to receive salvation, but there's no celebration. Yeah, and wouldn't it be like waking up, it's your birthday but nobody throws a party? Yeah, it's your birthday but you got no gifts. It's your birthday and no one calls you to say happy birthday. You know, like, everybody's just living on like, like it's normal man.
Speaker 2:We're blessed to where, almost every week, people come forward to get saved at church. But I don't ever want that to be taken for granted, to the point where people just get used to people coming forward to receive Christ and it's just like, yeah, that's what happens here, like, no, like the only way that that can happen is because there's a movement of the Spirit of God, and whenever there's a movement of the Spirit of God, we need to be celebrating and we need to let these people know that they have now come over to the team that wins. God has never lost and he never will lose. They're now part of a winning team and a new family, a new bloodline through the blood of Jesus, where curses have to fall, generational curses have to break, they can be set free from sin. They've got a brand new life as they repent and are born again. There's bondages that have been loosened and chains broken. This thing called salvation is worth celebrating.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have we come so complacent with miracles that the miracle of salvation is just looked at as oh okay, yeah, somebody got saved, you know. Now I want salvation to be normal in our church. I want that to be a regular occurrence, absolutely. But I also want the rejoicing not only to be normalized, I want it to be celebrated in a way that says yes, lord, I know that this is a miracle God and I never want to forget that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what an amazing opportunity it is that we get to stand or sit or be in the room, be present to watch someone get saved and become born again. In Christ, amen. And may we never, ever, get tired of seeing that or never, ever lose the importance and the magnitude of what is taking place right before our eyes.
Speaker 1:You know, I know we're running short on time, but I just had a thought about adoption. How about the family, the husband and wife who may not be able to have children, who finally go through that process of adoption and that's really what salvation is right Us being grafted and adopted into the family of God? When you hear about that family who finally has that adoption paperwork go through and they finally are going to get their new child coming home, oh, my goodness, what a celebration, what a rejoicing. We're calling, we're congratulating them. We need to have that same energy when it comes to the spiritual adoption into the family of God.
Speaker 2:You know, as you say that, bro, it's like I just got hit by a ton of bricks. Maybe that is our episode for next week that we are adopted into the body and we'll study scripture and see what it is to be adopted as sons and daughters into the family of God. So that gives you something to think about until next week and to look forward to and to pray about. And we are thankful that you have been here listening with us today and we want to say until next time. Until next time, continue to read your word, continue to pray, continue to seek the face of God Almighty, because he wants to have conversation with you.
Speaker 2:Father, in the name of the blood of Jesus, I just lift up these listeners and also Pastor Jim and myself, and, father, we just want your will to be done in our lives. So we trust you, we trust you, we want to see you, we want to hear from you, father, we want to experience the magnitude of your love and your goodness in our lives. We thank you, father, that we could have met today by way of this podcast. We love you, we praise you and we honor you, and all God's people said together, in the name and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Amen, amen and amen. Until next time on Beyond Sunday. God bless you.
